Two rates for one dollar
The bank says 8.40. The bazaar says about 11. Both are true, and that is what makes this autumn so confusing.
Zholdosh A. · 18 Oct 2026 · Issue 242 min read
The official rate is 8.40 som for a dollar. It has been 8.40 since March 2008. At the bazaar this October the street rate is 11 to 12, and in June it was about 9.5. The difference is the price of the dollar you can actually get.
For a family who earns and spends in som, almost nothing changes: bread is 3.50, plov 25 to 30, petrol 5.40. The difference arrives when you pay for something in dollars: a rent quoted in dollars, a part for the car, a university abroad. Then your som buys 25% less, and the landlord and the shop know exactly how much.
I have two suggestions, no more. Ask which rate any dollar price uses before you agree to it. And write the price in som on the receipt, so that later nobody remembers it differently. When the rates come closer, and they will, you will want that paper.
1 Comment
Reading it three times. "Both are true". I will quote you to my father, who has not got it yet.
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